ZHA Architects

ZHA Architects
TypeEmployee Benefit Trust (EBT)
IndustryArchitecture
Construction
Founded1979; 47 years ago (1979)
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
Number of employees
500[when?]
Websitezha.com

ZHA, officially ZHA Architects, and formerly Zaha Hadid Architects, is a British architecture and design firm founded by architect Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office in Clerkenwell, London.

History

After the death of "starchitect" Hadid, Patrik Schumacher became head of the firm, which continued to trade under Hadid's name under a licensing agreement which involved paying a portion of turnover to the Zaha Hadid Foundation. At the time the company had a staff of 400, with 36 projects across 21 countries. The licensing agreement cost the firm £21.4m between 2018 and 2024, and it became embroiled in a court battle to terminate the agreement.

In the early 2020s, the firm designed a virtual city, Liberland Metaverse, based on the Liberland micronation and hosted on the Metaverse platform. The firm had in the 2020s turned to artificial intelligence to help in the design of workplaces; the firm created a dedicated internal unit called ZHAI (Zaha Hadid Analytics + Insights) to address AI utilization, something uncommon among peer firms.

In June 2026, the licensing agreement relating to the firm's continued use of Hadid's name was ended following a court ruling, and the firm rebranded as ZHA (company registered as ZHA Architects Ltd). It employs around 500 staff worldwide.

Awards

2022

World Architecture Awards

Source:

  • Realised Award Winning Architecture Projects: BEEAH Headquarters (United Arab Emirates)
  • Designed Award Winning Architecture Projects: International Convention Centre and Theaters (French Polynesia)

Johnson Controls Blueprint of the Future Award

2022

UK Excellence in Design Award

  • Infinitus Plaza (Guangzhou, China): Large Projects 

Architizer Awards A+ Awards

Jury Winner for Best Large Firm

Jury Winner for Architecture + Concrete: Striatus 3D Printed Bridge (Venice, Italy)

Architectural work

Conceptual projects

Major completed projects

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan
520 West 28th Street, Manhattan, New York City (2018)
Leeza SOHO, Beijing, China (2019)
Sky Park Residence in Bratislava, Slovakia (2024)

Unfinished projects

Ongoing and future projects

References

  1. 1 2 "Striatus 3D Printed Bridge by Zaha Hadid Architects". Architizer. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Tang, Ming (2014). Parametric Building Design Using Autodesk Maya. Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-415-64446-4. Retrieved 3 July 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ "Home". Zaha Hadid Architects. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2018.[self-published source]
  4. ↑ Ravenscroft, Tom (2 March 2026). "Patrik Schumacher wins right to remove Zaha Hadid's name from studio". Dezeen.
  5. ↑ Bernstein, Fred A. (November 2016). "In the shadow of Zaha: Patrik Schumacher, right hand of the late starchitect Zaha Hadid, faces the daunting task of leading the firm she built". W. Vol. 45, no. 9. p. 70 – via Gale General OneFile (Wikipedia Library).
  6. 1 2 Gayne, Daniel (16 June 2026). "Zaha Hadid Architects drops founder's name in rebrand". Building. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 Finney, Alice (11 March 2022). "Zaha Hadid Architects designs virtual Liberland Metaverse city". Dezeen. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Nayeri, Farah (15 June 2023). "How A.I. Is Helping Architects Change Workplace Design". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023. I've been a workplace designer for the last 24 years," said the architect Arjun Kaicker. "I've seen more change in the last 24 months than in the whole of my career.
    archive link provides access to full text without subscription
  9. ↑ "World Architecture Community Awards 43rd Cycle Winners Are Announced". World Architecture Community. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "BEEAH Headquarters receives "Blueprint of the Future" award, as the first fully AI-integrated building in the Middle East". johnsoncontrols.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Winners 2022". AIA UK. American Institute of Architects (UK Chapter). 12 May 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "2022 Firms Winners – Architizer A+Awards". winners.architizer.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "2022 Plus Winners - Architizer A+Awards". winners.architizer.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "Tondonia Winery Pavilion / Zaha Hadid". Archdaily.com. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  15. ↑ "Maxxi_Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del Xxi Secolo". Maxxi.beniculturali.it. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "The Heydar Aliyev Project". Reuters Daylife. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "World-class building under way with Broad Art Museum groundbreaking". Michigan State University. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  18. ↑ "Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park". World Design Capital 2010.[dead link]
  19. ↑ "Afragola station delayed". Today's Railways Europe (156): 52. December 2008.
  20. ↑ Pires, Samantha (15 January 2022). "Zaha Hadid Architects Design "Infinite Ring" Buildings to Inspire Connection Inside and Out". My Modern Met. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "BEEAH Headquarters". worldarchitecture.org. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "Zaha Hadid Architects to design a New Central Business District for Prague". Arch2O.com. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  23. ↑ "Zaha Hadid Architects".
  24. ↑ "Rail Baltica Ülemiste joint terminal". Zaha Hadid Architects. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  25. ↑ "Port of Tallinn Masterplan 2030 for the Old City Harbour - Masterplans". Zaha Hadid Architects. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "First building on Zaha Hadid Architects' Unicorn Island nears completion". Dezeen. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  27. ↑ "Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base". Zaha Hadid Architects.
  28. ↑ "Vilnius Railway Station". Zaha Hadid Architects.
  29. ↑ Walton, Chris (13 June 2023). "Designs released for the Zaha Hadid Architects–designed condo building planned for the site of the Surfside collapse". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  30. ↑ "JLand Group & Zaha Hadid Architects to build Discovery City within Ibrahim Technopolis, Malaysia". Zaha Hadid Architects. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2023.

Further reading